Existing cooling systems for engine driven generators typically include belt-driven fans that are used to remove heat from a radiator that serves to cool the engine. These belt-driven fans are usually driven by the engines themselves.
One of the drawbacks with belt-driven fans is that they require the engine to be running in order to perform cooling. In addition, the belt-driven fans typically occupy valuable space within an enclosure that includes the engine driven generator.
Another drawback with belt-driven fans is that the speed of the fan is usually dependent upon the speed of the engine. Therefore, the degree of cooling provided by the belt-driven fan changes based on the speed of the engine instead of being based on the amount of load on the engine. In addition, belt-driven fan commonly generate an undesirable amount of audible noise because of the size and speed of the belt driven fans.
A single fan configuration can result in no cooling being provided when the single fan becomes inoperative. In addition, a single fan configuration also typically only provides a limited number of available air flow paths in which to provide cooling and/or move air through/in/from the engine driven generator.
Therefore, a need exists for an engine driven generator cooling system that may provide adequate cooling while minimizing audible noise. The cooling system may also provide cooling to the radiator even when the engine is not running. Finally, the cooling system may provide cooling even when a fan that forms part of the cooling system becomes inoperative.